Technology Transfer at ESO

Astronomy uses some of the most advanced technologies and sophisticated techniques available to scientists nowadays in order to satisfy the ambitious science programmes that the community requires observatories to follow. ESO, with its unique telescopes, has contributed greatly to this process and continues to do so, with the development of many cutting edge technologies.

Technology and knowledge transfer have many different definitions. For ESO, technology transfer means the use of technology developed for ESO to be re-used elsewhere. This practice is important for ESO, as it offers benefits for ESO’s Member States, for society as a whole, for industry, and for the scientific institutes working with ESO.

The policy framework that shapes technology transfer at ESO are embedded in different documents:

In the Intellectual Property (IP) rules of the General Conditions regarding ESO procurements